Jack Farley
by Goth13
Summary: rating for violence - Mutants aren't real. They only exist in comic books and children's imagination. There is nothing that could persuade Jack Farley of the opposite. Nothing, not nobody, not nohow.
1. Chapter 1

Every since he was nine years old, Jack Farley was addicted to comic books. His favourite, the X-Men of course! They were just ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Outwardly, they looked the same (most of them anyway), spoke the same, came from the same planet (unlike the well known Superman), and were overall, just easier to relate to.

This, however, was real life. No matter how hard he tried Xavier and his band or X-Men would never be real. It was a fact; people didn't mutate and acquire the powers described in his comic books just because of stress during puberty. Jack knew that, his family knew that and everyone else living in the world knew that.

Jack was now seventeen, living in his childhood home in Denver, Colorado, and had long forgotten the comic books he used to read. He had given them up for his high school soccer team and his spot in the jazz band. His deep brown mushroom cut and dinosaur t-shirts had also been replaced by longish, curly hair that fell like a wavy mop on his head, and band shirts. He had started off in school being the shortest kid in the class, always being poked at for his height. Now, he was taller than all the boys who had ever made fun of him. He wasn't the tallest in his class but he was at least 6"2.

Recently, the news castors had been reporting of many cases of children winding up in hospital because of a strange new disease that seems to put a child through a series of horrendous, and traumatizing events and sometimes, slight deformities before settling down into a dormant occurrence. So far, no cure had been discovered for the new series of ailments but it wasn't a priority. The main thing was to handle the victims when the violent outbursts began.

It was ten months before the first reports surfaced that sealed the fate of hundreds of people around the world. The new disease had been classified as a genetic mutation and was able to change its victim enough to allow them new talents. All the news centres were commenting on the event, one station even stated that it sounded like the famous comic book X-Men that most people had read as adolescence. Everyone joked about it until a small but powerful political group emerged demanding to be listened to. They called themselves the Protectors and had placed a new idea into the thoughts of the general populace, fear.

The Protectors had one main platform. Get rid of the rising mutant population and save humanity from disaster. They believed that mutants would soon become to high a population percentage and use their power to take over the world. Most people were able to shake off the new found group, calling them right wing, religious extremists who didn't get that everyone has a right to live. Others, started to shift their views and slowly but surely, the party grew. They gained more political respect and soon moved to become a national organization. So it began the war between the mutants and the humans. One wanted to live, the other feared what they didn't, couldn't understand.

Then again, what did an issue concerning, humanities freak shows, and politics have to do with a seventeen year old boy living in Denver? Quite a bit actually. It was the very end of the soccer season and the two final teams were preparing for the final showdown. Jack's Denver Secondary School, verses the Catholic school down the road. Every year, the same two teams made it to the finals. Jack was a superb goalie and had only let in two goals by the end of the second half. The score was tied, two – two. The referee and coaches had decided to continue play until one team scored. Jack prepared himself in the net, crouched to the ground as the Catholic team's captain and centre forward raced towards him passing the ball around to his team members. They avoided the defence and Jack was now faced with three, unchallenged forwards trying to score. The captain took aim, and fired the ball straight for the upper left corner. Jack jumped, and smacked the ball away with his chest, dropping down to grab the ball he noticed it sliding back towards the line. Diving he caught the ball just as the Catholic school's right forward was aiming another kick. This one missed the ball and connected straight with Jack's head. The game was halted immediately and unconscious Jack was carried off the field, while his coach was screaming at his Catholic counterpart.

Jack woke up three days later in hospital and quickly took in his surroundings. Everything was white, so white it hurt his eyes. The place reeked of hand sanitizer and the bustling of nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors shuffling around in the corridor. Lying back down Jack began to remember the game and as soon as his parents came in he sat up and called to them, asking who had won the game. Quietly they told him to sit back and listen to them.

"Jack," his mother started, "There is something we have to tell you. After the game there was a huge boom and the skies opened up. Lightening was everywhere. Three boys on the other team were struck by lightening."

"I don't get it, why are you telling me this."

"We want you to know that whatever happens, whatever people say, we are still your parents and we love you. As soon as we can, we're going to take you home and a nurse will visit everyday," said his father calmly, "Once she thinks that you're fit enough to get back to your normal life, you are going to get on a plane to New York, and live in a small apartment that your mother bought when she was in graduate school. You will stay there and will probably never hear from us again."

"What!" the prospect of leaving everything he had behind confused him completely. Why did his parents want him to leave? Then it hit him like a smack on the head. "People thought I created the lightening, didn't they?"

His parents nodded. They must have rehearsed this several times before coming to see him. Everything seemed so planned, so arranged.

Not knowing what else to say, his parents left him to his own thoughts. As soon as they left, Jack drifted back into a dream and from then until his hospital release, to the release from the temporary health care given at home, Jack really stopped caring. It felt like years that he had been cooped up in the care of Nurse Francesca Betty, but in reality, it had only been two weeks. In under a month, his bags were packed, and he was sharing one last hug with his best friends Jim and Suzanne in front of the terminal before boarding the flight the New York. Jim gave him a pat on the back and a strong hug, and Suzanne left him with a peck on the cheek and a promise that she and Jim would find him some day. Jim and Suzanne had started dating, weeks after their first meeting but they never would abandon Jack, their third member. Both of Jack's parents had dropped him off at the airport and drove off as if they never had a son. What he had't noticed was that as soon as he had gotten out of the car, his mother took her cell phone out of her purse and made a short, but vital long distance phone call.

Jack took his seat in coach class, right on top of the engine, and prepared for a long night. There were a few old movies, but Jack spent most of the flight sleeping, awaking only for dinner and breakfast the next morning, two hours before landing. When the plane finally landed in John F. Kennedy Airport a mechanized sounding voice greeted the travel weary passengers to the Big Apple and told them to enjoy their stay. Wandering out of the terminal, baggage in hand, Jack quickly hailed a taxi which took him to a nice enough apartment. When he finally got up the elevator and managed to work the key into the lock he opened the door to reveal a fair sized room, with pink tiling in the bathroom, white shag carpet in the main room and bedroom, and absolutely disgusting dark cream colour wallpaper in every room. This was definitely his mother's taste. Dropping his bags in the bedroom, he continued on to the rest of the apartment to inspect. He found, one bathroom, one bedroom, a small kitchen, a den, and a medium sized living and dining room. Not bad, at least he wouldn't be living in a small apartment in the middle of nowhere.

Quickly, Jack opened his bag and removed some basic food supplies. Stuffing them into the kitchen he sat down to fully absorb his new surroundings, and frankly, he was disgusted. He was going to have to spend at least a few years in his mother's paradise until he could get out of university, get a job and either redecorate or get the hell out of the death trap of pink and white that surrounded him. Jack spent the next two weeks working at the coffee shop in the food court across the street, something until his university term started for the year. Unfortunately, Jack never got around to going to university. It seemed the world had better things in mind for Jack Farley.

One day, after working the late shift and going out to a nearby bar with his new friend Tom, Jack returned home to find that his home had been entered and his things rummaged through. He ran through the apartment to see if anything was stolen or the culprit was still inside. When he arrived at the small den which was just beside the kitchen he glanced in, saw nothing and ran right past. Then, on his way back to the kitchen, he noticed a smell coming from the room, smoke! Turning in, he saw that his apartment wasn't on fire but instead, there was a man of about thirty, sitting down, watching the muted updates for the recent football game.

"Who are you?" he questioned

"Oh, you've finally noticed have you? I like what you've done with the place," replied the man, failing to hide his smirk.

"My sentiments exactly. Now, could you please tell me what you're doing in my apartment?"

"Happily, my name is Wolverine, and I've come with a message from Professor Xavier."

Something in those names sounded familiar, of course...

"Professor Xavier? Wolverine? Let me guess, Storm is driving the X-Jet with Jean Gray and you have adamantium claws. Please, I read those comics when I was nine, mutants may exist but I highly doubt that Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters is real."

"Come with me and you'll find out."

"I'd rather not, thanks for the offer."

"If I were you, I'd come. If you don't, Magneto will be here by tomorrow morning and unlike me, he won't give you a choice."

"Prove it; prove to me that you really are Wolverine."

Instantly, six claws shot out from between Wolverine's knuckles and sliced through the pink slipcover on the old couch.

"Now," he said, "will you be kind enough to get follow me?"

"After you, my mutant friend."

Wolverine led Jack down stairs to the curb out front and seated both himself and Jack on a gleaming black motorcycle.

"The only way to travel!" said Wolverine as they sped off down the freeway.

It was a two hour ride to the Xavier Institue and by the end of it, Jack was fully knowledgeable as to what was fact and what was fiction in the comic version of the X-Men.

Wolverine parked the car in the garage and led Jack up to the main hall.

"Welcome home, buddy."

Jack looked around the hall, this wasn't anything like the images in his comics.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:...I forgot, now I'm putting it in, I don't own the X-Men. An thanks to both of my reviewers.

"Logon," questioned Jack, "How did you know where I was living and why did you come to pick me up?"

"Don't take this personally, this has absolutely nothing to do with you, only your powers. Remember that soccer game? Well, your parents thought that calling Magneto would be the best thing to do. The Professor thinks that Magneto wants your powers for some new scene."

"Well, thanks for getting me out of my pink prison."

"Don't mention it."

Logon led him up one flight of stairs to a small, grey room with a single bed in the corner.

"You will stay here until the Professor decides what to do with you. You got that? Good, any questions? No? Good. Good night!"

With that, Logon closed the door leaving Jack alone in a room that reminded him strongly of a prison cell. Every time a new X-Man had ever been introduced to the team, weren't they usually...allowed to move more than three feet in any direction before hitting a wall?

He was kept in that room throughout the entire Striker crisis, and was only let out for meals which he ate while everyone else was at their classes. The only other mutant he ever had contact with was Logon, and he really wasn't much comfort. It had been already three months since he was originally brought to the institute, and if he had to suffer one more week he would go insane. Finally, it happened. Jack was sitting on the corner of his bed quietly reading when his door opened and an unfamiliar mutant came in. He was about Jack's age and only a few inches shorter. While Jack was examining his visitor he failed to notice a freezing sensation around his wrists. When he looked down, both his hands were attached by ice. Looking up again, the visitor motioned for Jack to follow him. The visitor led him up through several passageways and then down one flight, through the dining area, and back into the main hall. When they stopped, Jack looked at the visitor and asked him

"What exactly is going on..." but before he could finish his scentance, the ice bonds melted and about six or seven people surrounded him, in a circle. The only one he reacognized was Logon.

"Who are you all?"

"We are the X-Men," commented one

"I know that. Why in all of heaven and hell was I kept in a cell for god knows how long?"

It was then that Professor Xavier stepped forward.

"You were in the room for a total of three months. For now, Magneto has been calmed, and you are now free to walk the halls of this school. As you have already finished your secondary schooling I would like ask you to stay with us as an assistant teacher to Cyclops in the auto shop department."

"Sir, what happened to your wheelchair?"

"I never have or probably ever will use a wheel chair. Now, I assume that this room is probably not somewhere you'd like to stay, so I will have Logon give you the room next to his. In the morning, Scott will be outside your door tomorrow morning to show you around and answer any questions," said the Professor pointing to a tall man with red glasses.

"What if I don't want to stay here? After all you did keep me locked up after basically abducting me from my, albeit disgusting, home."

"With most cases, I would tell you that you could leave this building at any time and move on in your own life, but in your case, I will have to keep you here perminently. Logon, could you please take Jack to his room? Welcome to Xavier's Institute Jack"  
"I can't wait."

Jack spent the next night in solitude, and in the morning after having his breakfast with the other students, and going through the school with Scott, he followed Scott down to the garage and waited with him for the first class to arrive. The day was passed slowly, and so was the next until every day seemed to blur into one. He spent most days with Scott in the garage but sometimes convinced Ororo to allow him into the danger room to practice and was quickly becoming quite good. He could now create and control entire thunder storms without draining himself complete. Jack had never attempted an escape knowing that the Professor would never allow it. So he spent the better part of a year at the Institute and was slowly beginning to enjoy it.

It was July sixth when life at the Institute began to change. A boy of about seventeen or eighteen slowly walked down the gravel path to the front gates. He walked with an air of importance, as if he knew something which was still to come. Jack was the only person outside at the time so the boy made his way over.

"Who are you and what do you want with the institute?" questioned Jack

"You're new. I don't remember seeing you around when I left here. I am John Alderdyce and I would like to rejoin the school as an X-Man."

"Come with me." Jack led him down several halls until they were both standing outside the Professor's office. Even before Jack's hand had finished it's first knock a voice could be heard from inside, asking them to come in. The Professor was pacing around in front of his desk and smiled when John walked into the room.  
"So, John, you have decided to come back to us."

"Yes sir, After spending time with Magneto I've realized that I was better off here."  
Just as John turned to leave the Professor called back to him,

"John, I would like to read your mind before you get back into the swing of things."

Xavier slowly raised his hands around John's temples and when he was finished he dropped his hands with a smile and said quite calmly, "Welcome home Pyro."

As John rejoined Jack outside the door Jack commented,

"Pyro...does that mean you can create fire?"  
"No, only control it. Now you know all about me, who are you and what, praytell, are your powers?"

"My name is Jack Farley, but call me Blaze, and I can create lightening. What a second, you can't create fire, but you can control it right?"

"Yes... Oh, I see where you're going with this."  
"This could be the beginning of a great friendship."

John soon became an assistant teacher as well as Jack and was mostly helping out with the danger room.

Both would now practice together. Ororo, who was interested in watching these two agreed to operate the danger room. She would produce huge ferocious creature with varing intelligence. Jack would hold his hands to the sky and thunder would boom throughout the entire room. Two bolts of lightening would streak down to his outstreatched finger tips and into his hands. Jack would quickly create a ball and send the energy streaming towards a piece of wood in John's hand. The wood would immediately catch and John would create a blaze that would engulf both of them in a cloud of fire.

Together, the two could accomplish anything. They became known to both the faculty and the students as FireBlaze.


	3. Chapter 3

Already a year had passed Jack was still with the Xavier institute, not knowing the reason why. As the weeks had passed he began to care less and less about why and more and more about learning about being a mutant. In one of his strolls with the professor he had learned about each of the other X-men and their powers. Jack had also discovered that the recent reports in the news weren't the first signs of mutancy. The mutations had been happening in noticeable numbers since the very early nineteen hundreds.

His practice times in the danger room were showing immense improvements. Blaze had moved past needing a thunderstorm. If he concentrated hard enough, he could call lightning from a clear blue sky. In his free time, Jack worked diligently with John to find a way to allow him to not just control but create fire. So far they had made no progress but weren't willing to give up.

Another two years quickly passed and Jack was celebrating his twentieth birthday. Beyond minor scuffles with the Brotherhood, which both components of FireBlaze were left out of, and a close call from a snoopy journalist who was ready to print a front page article on "activities" that he had witnessed going on in the mansion. Children disappearing through walls, manipulating objects and displaying other signs of the cursed mutant genes would get him a fat paycheck and Xavier hundreds of angry Protector extremists trying to harm his children.

Over the years, many new recruits had been welcomed to the school. Dr. Hank McCoy had graciously taken over the medical vacancy and Remy LaBeouf had arrived to annoy everyone. Along with them came a slew of new children, some as young as eight, dropped off by extremely worried parents and relatives.

It was not until the weekend of Jack's twenty-first birthday that anything exciting happened, if you can call horrific destruction and mass panic exciting. A dark presence had descended over the school. Telepathic students were constantly filling the medical lab complaining of extreme headaches every time they used their powers. Even Charles Xavier himself had been forced to visit McCoy for a checkup.

The night that McCoy finally let Xavier out of the lab was the night that changed Jack's life forever. A meeting was announced for all members of the X-Men team. Also Jack, John, Rogue and Bobby had been invited to join in the meeting.

"Our first order of business," said Xavier turning to the four students "is to decide whether or not to allow these four to join the X-Men. Before you make your decisions, I have been constantly monitoring John Alderdyce here and can assure you that his fear of Magneto is strong enough to ever prevent him from moving back."

Slowly but surely Scott, Hank, Remy, Ororo, Kurt, and Logon all nodded their heads. Hank and Remy had become X-Men upon their arrival. Their assets to the team were the only reason that they were contacted in the first place.

"Next, I have some bad news. A new mutant, more powerful than any we have ever faced, has appeared and is preparing to take over not just the Brotherhood, but I believe this institute as well"

"Then we have to stop him right?" pondered Kurt.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," stated the professor as calmly as he could.

"What exactly do you mean?" this time it was Ororo speaking.

"I mean that this isn't just any new mutant. Oh no, she has had her powers for as long as you all have. What I believe happened was that after the dam at Alkali Lake burst, not everyone was killed."

"Jean…" trailed Scott as if he was in a trance

"I'm afraid so," replied Xavier.

Logon looked over at Scott and noticed that he was to busy trying to understand that his Jean was still alive. So instead of waiting for him to snap out of it, he continued, "What do you mean afraid so? We should be celebrating! One of our own is alive!"

"That's the problem, when Jean was drowned her mind managed to separate itself from her body long enough to allow the waters to calm. Once they had, mind and body were reunited, unfortunately when her body and mind rejoined, the Phoenix Entity was allowed to enter as well. Normally, Jean would have been able to at least attempt to expell the Entity, however, she can't just walk out of a lake and be alright, her genes were forced to mutate again to cope with the sudden separation. So, like the phoenix from fables, she has risen from the ashes of her former self, and the Phoenix Entity was able to take a strong hold on her before she was even aware of its presence. Meaning, she isn't the same person she used to be. Judging from the mental attacks on all telepathics in this building, and her new state of mind, Jean has returned as a completely different person."

Bobby looked around and back at the professor who had just seated himself on a plush chair before asking, "How do you know all this?"

"Simple really. While I was with Dr. McCoy, she and I had a little chat."

"You spoke to her?" cried Scott in disbelief. "What did she say?"

"That Jean was dead. Phoenix had risen from her ashes and was preparing to complete the task that Magneto has failed so many times."

"She wants to control the world? Upset the balance, she should know she could never do that," asked an exasperated Ororo.

"I'm afraid that she doesn't just want to control humans like Eric, rather she wants to literally, destroy the human race."

Nobody really could think of anything to say until Jack meekly asked, "If Phoenix is strong enough to kill every human what can we do to stop her and why hasn't she already?"

"Jean knows that the X-men would never allow it and the Brotherhood may not like humans but Eric is smart enough to know that a mass destruction is not only degrading but impossible. No, before she makes a move on humanity, she will come after us."

At these remarks, everyone needed some time to absorb what they had just heard. Xavier stood again, looked at his fellow X-men and agreed to allow them until morning to think before they would be heading out to Alkali Lake in search of what remained of the once proud Dr. Jean Gray.

The next morning, Xavier handed over temporary control of the school to Kitty Pryde and Jubilation Lee, the two oldest mutants not a part of the X-men.

When everyone was successfully piled into the X-jet, the team was back on their way to Alkali. As they approached the lake Jack felt the tension floating around like a piece of cloth, slowly strangling him. Luckily, John came to his rescue with some mindless banter and the reassuring click of his Zippo. The majority of the flight was taken in silence, but that all changed as soon as they landed. Scott jumped out of his seat and rammed through the half opened doors, letting in a blast of cold air. Once everyone was out side, the professor stumbled back a step, right into Remy.

"Professor, you aught to be more careful, no? We don't want you to break a bone."

However, the voice that responded didn't belong the Charles Xavier. It was a woman's voice, clear and beautiful. She sounded like a siren out of Homer's tales.

"X-men, welcome," she started, her words sounding twisted coming from the lips of an aged man, "I see your numbers have grown substantially since my former self sacrificed herself. Tell me, why have you returned when she gave up her life to get you away?"

"Jean!" cried Scott into the open, "Show yourself to us."

"Cyclops, I am no longer Jean Gray. You must always remember that. It will make your death easier. Although, I will show myself to you. It is always good to know thine enemy."

Just as the words faded out of the echoing valley, a short woman with intimidating white eyes floated down from the nearby forest and stood in front of her new rivals. She still held Jean's natural beauty and grace, but it was her eyes that had changed. Not just in colour, but in intensity. She looked as if she could destroy a life with only a glance.

Knowing the Phoenix Entity, thought the professor, she probably could.

A/N: Review? This came upon me while I was waiting for the computer to boot up. If you don't want to read it, don't.

Once upon a time, King Mario was king and head of the Toad family. He and his wife Queen Princess ruled the Yoshi universe. One day, the evil Duke Bowzer killed everyone and they all lived happily ever after, the ones who had only been damaged and not killed that is.

The End.

If you want, I can continue these ridicules stories.


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